Avocados At Law (Adventures With Writing and Daredevil)

This is kind of a monthly thing (hopefully it will be) where I talk briefly about what's inspiring me in my writing lately. This month, that's Daredevil.

I may or may not have abused the Netflix one-month-free-trial feature in order to finally binge-watch this. I'm almost done with season 1 already and HELP ME I AM FEELING ALL THE FEELS. I've been watching with the ever-glorious Anna, so there's been lots of crying and shrieking and flailing for me the past few days. But oh my gosh, you guys, this show. I haven't been watching for very long but I'm already incredibly inspired.

daredevil kicking me in the feels like

This show is important. It's gritty and violent and dark, yes. It's morbid. Lots of blood goes down. People fall off buildings. It's crazy. It's also feelsy, and full of heart, and has some of the best friendships I've ever seen. It's inspired me in several ways:

The friendships. But can we just talk about Matt and Foggy, you guys. Matt and Foggy are adorable. They trust each other. They care about each other. Foggy helps Matt with things his blindness (oh, yeah, he's blind) might make difficult for him, but he doesn't treat him like he's made of glass. Matt respects Foggy and his feelings. They apologize when they hurt each other. Foggy and Karen support each other emotionally and look out for the other person's good above their own. Daredevil is full of healthy, deep, respectful friendships, and it's inspired me to take a look at some of the friendships in my own writing and make them realistic.

it's a very serious show, i promise.

The violence. Okay okay okay, don't get me wrong! It's a dark and violent show. But that's not the point. It's in-your-face. You hear every punch. But it's not meant to be excessive. It's meant to horrify you. It's raw, it's there, it conveys emotions. There's emotional violence, too, in a way, and they don't pull punches (literally and mentally). You feel all the feels and it's like you're right there.

Disability and mental illness. Matt Murdock is blind. Karen undoubtedly struggles with some kind of PTSD after everything the poor child has been through. It's all respected. It's a thing, and it's shown in all its realism and hard times, but the people around them respect this. Foggy and Karen are aware of Matt's blindness, remind others of that, and accommodate him accordingly. Matt doesn't angst about being blind; he regrets and misses things, obviously, but he's learned to live with things and make do. That's important and makes me want to see if I'm doing that, too.

The villains. OH MY GOSH THE VILLAINS. Daredevil villains are human. The Russian mob dudes have family members they care about. Fisk (ugh) cares deeply about his girlfriend, his city, his best friend. He has genuine relationships with people around him, even if he's kind of a jerkface 99% of the time. The villains are real actual people with real motivations and feelings. I wish my villains could be that way.

What. A. Creep.

The combination of darkness and humor. Daredevil is seriously depressing. Everyone cries. The fight scenes are real. The show is deep and heavy and will slay you with feels, I promise. But when it comes down to it...it's hilarious too. The sass is real, you guys, oh my gosh. That balance keeps it from hurting too much always, and it doesn't take itself too lightly, either.

this is a legit line from a real show.

I can't recommend Daredevil to everyone -- it's hard to watch sometimes. But it's been making me think hard about how I write and the kinds of characters I like, as well as whether or not I'm writing with intention and writing characters with real personalities. So that's awesome.

Have you seen Daredevil? What's been inspiring you this month?

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I've only seen the first episode! BUT NOW I NEED TO WATCH THE REST. ASAP. It's amazing. 0_0 (But then Marvel = guarantee to be amazing basically.) Also I do like things that are dark *tries to squash dark soul* AHEM. But epic fight scenes and realistically handled PTSD?!? YUUUUS. Also the fact that it deals with disabilities is hugely wonderful. More shows (and books!) like this, yes please and thank you.

I second what Adelyn says because Frank Castle is AMAZING. Maybe not quite as amazing as Fisk, but I don't see him as a straight villain either--more like an anti-hero. Daredevil is one of my absolute favorite shows and I could blather about it for DAYS. I love Matt and Foggy. I adore Claire. I want to be Karen. And the friendships will inspire my writing forever.

Anyway isn't this show seriously just the best inspiration for writing? There's just so many layers to it that appeal to my writer side and just ugh I cannot even anymore xD Season 2 is especially amazing and just FEELS *dies*

I have never heard of Daredevil before...But if I ever watched TV, this would now be on my list of shows to watch. It sounds awesome and well done! I respect shows that make their characters real and human.

ooooh yes Daredevil is so so so good. I didn't know if I would like it before I watched the show, but now, halfway through season 2, I am nothing but impressed. I just want to give all the characters hugs and tell them that it's all going be okay (I mean...I hope it's all going to be okay...)I really dislike Fisk, but I also really love how they handled him. I read somewhere (and this is the internet, so who knows if it's true) that Fisk's actor is autistic and it's canon for Daredevil that Fisk is as well. Since I'm friends with some who fall on the autistic spectrum, it was very interesting to see how they handled that. I didn't appreciate his life choices, but I also didn't feel like they were blaming his decisions and villianhood on his disorder.so yeah. love the show. love the grittiness and the adorbs (which are not two words that usually go to together...looking at you, Matt Murdock). love/hate the feels.